Meet wrestler George ‘The Animal’ Steele

Retired professional wrestler George “The Animal” Steele will appear at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Colonie Center at 7 p.m. Thursday (7/25) for an appearance and book-signing event to promote his new memoir, “The Animal,” co-written with Jim Evans.

Steele — whose real name is William James Myers — earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and became a high school teacher and coach in his native Michigan before turning to professional wrestling in the late 1960s to supplement his income. Now 76, he wrestled until 1988.